While most students are familiar with the standardized test formats by the time they take them, one thing they’re often less familiar with is the communication of the results: the official report that they receive when scores are released. But not to worry. Below, I’ll walk you through some of the most common questions around score reports.
First of all, what is a score report?
A score report is the breakdown of the results from the official test you took. When you open it up, you’ll see a score for each individual section. A few examples:
The SAT: You’ll view your total score and the division between the Reading and Writing section and the Math section.
The ACT: You’ll see your subsection scores for English, Math, Reading, and Science
The TOEFL: Shows Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing.
Once you click into each of the detailed reports, you’ll be able to see what score you achieved in each section and where that score falls, percentile-wise. These won’t show exactly which types of questions you got wrong, but for some tests, you can order the Testing Information Release to see that information– colleges, however, won’t receive it.
Colleges will have access to this full report, which from the ACT includes the English Language Arts score, the STEM score, along with the “Understanding Complex Texts” and “Progress Toward Career Readiness” notes. That said, they will primarily be focused on the main sections of the test. Each test will also offer a Writing section, which has been becoming increasingly optional as schools place more emphasis on the essays you write on your applications. Although some schools don’t require it, we still recommend taking the Writing section, so as not to disqualify yourself from applying to a particular school that does requires it.
How do I read my score report?
The most important number to focus on is the composite score. This is where Admissions Officers are going to look first. From there, they’ll look at your individual section scores if you are applying for a specific program like Business or Engineering. Applicants to those programs will be expected to have higher Math (and Science for Engineering programs) scores as those are going to relate most closely to what you’d be studying in college. Students applying for English or Journalism, in turn, will be expected to have higher Verbal scores.
If I have a significantly lower score in one section, should I still send that test date to colleges?
This is a tricky one, and the answer is… it depends. If you’re applying to schools that superscore, then, by all means, go ahead and send whichever combination of test dates will give you the highest superscore. The software the colleges use will automatically recalculate your superscore before an admissions officer reviews your file, so they’ll only be seeing your “highlight reel” so to speak. For schools that don’t superscore, the question of whether to submit results from a test date with an anomalously low section score will depend more on which section was lower and how much lower it was (both than your expectations and the composite). Speak with your Advisor and make a game plan based on how much of an “outlier” that section was; it may make sense to retest.
Should I cancel my score if I’m not happy with it?
Is it even possible to cancel a score after I receive my score report? With the ACT, yes. With the SAT, no. More importantly, though, is it worth all of that effort to cancel an ACT score? Probably not. The number of schools that require you to submit your entire testing record is growing shorter by the month. Most colleges participate in Score Choice, which allows you to choose which test scores you wish to share with them. So if you’re not happy with a score, no problem, keep studying and give it another shot. However, I do not advise canceling a score without a higher score already on your testing record.
If you have any additional questions about score reports or how colleges view them, don’t hesitate to reach out to your Advisor!